Anthony Bridgestock – Wisbech

May 2018

Wisbech paedophile jailed for deleting internet history on his mobile phone

A sex offender from Wisbech has been jailed for breaching a court order given to him for grooming a schoolgirl.

Anthony Bridgestock, 32, pleaded guilty and was handed two years and eight months behind bars.

Police visited Bridgestock’s home in South Brink and examined his mobile phone where they found his internet history had been deleted, along with a messaging application.

This constituted a breach of his order.

Detective Constable Jim Howard said: “Bridgestock was fully aware of the terms of the order and tried to cover up his use of the internet by deleting the content.

“Protecting children is a priority for the constabulary and we will do all we can to keep our communities safe.”

Bridgestock was jailed following a hearing at Peterborough Crown Court on April 27.

In March this year he was at his home in South Brink when officers visited to check up on him.

He was originally jailed in 2015 for six years for grooming a 15 year old girl while living at a hostel in Ipswich.

In that incident he approached the girl in the city and asked her how old she was.

He text the girl, met up with her and walked her to school as part of a grooming process.

He moved on to simulating sexual intercourse with the girl while she was lying in a park and touched her intimately under her clothing. He later had sex with the girl on three occasions.

Bridgestock admitted two offences of sexual activity with a child, two offences of breaching a sexual offences prevention order and two offences of penetrative sexual activity with the girl.

Judge David Goodin said Bridgestock met the girl and “groomed” her for sex within a few weeks of avoiding custody for sexually assaulting a 12 year old girl.

Bridgestock was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register and he was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order until further notice,

The court heard that the grooming inicdent happened after he was given a community order for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl wile suffering from herpes.

April 2015

A Sex offender who “groomed” vulnerable schoolgirl for sex while he was living at an Ipswich probation hostel has been jailed for six years

Anthony Bridgestock, 29, had been living at the hostel in Fuchsia Lane for a few weeks last September when he approached the 15-year-old girl in Ipswich and asked her how old she was, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

He text the girl, met up with her and walked her to school as part of a grooming process, said Andrew Thompson, prosecuting.

On September 23, Bridgestock simulated sexual intercourse with the girl while she was lying in a park and touched her intimately under her clothing. He later had sex with the girl on three occasions.

Bridgestock admitted two offences of sexual activity with a child, two offences of breaching a sexual offences prevention order and two offences of penetrative sexual activity with the girl.

Jailing him for six years, ordering him to sign the sex offenders’ register and making him the subject of a sexual harm prevention order until further notice, Judge David Goodin said Bridgestock met the girl and “groomed” her for sex within a few weeks of avoiding custody for sexually assaulting a girl aged 12.

Mr Thompson said that on September 2, Bridgestock formerly of Kings Lynn was given a community order for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl and came to live at a probation hostel.

“Within a very short period of time he was having contact with the victim who was a vulnerable 15-year-old girl,” Mr Thomson said.

Andrew Shaw, for Bridgestock, accepted his client had herpes when he committed the sexual offences.